It is often important
to disguise your big hands so that your opponents don't
know what you have because you want to get as much value
for them as you can. However, there is one special application
of the Fundamental Theorem of Online Poker Games, which we hinted at:
As a pot gets larger and larger, you nearly always want
to win it instantly. Naturally you would like your opponent
to play incorrectly and throw away the best hand. But even
when your hand is the best hand, you generally prefer your
opponent to fold rather than call when the pot is large.
The reason is that when you bet in a limit games and the
pot is large, your opponent's hand, though second best,
is rarely so much of an underdog that he is not getting
good enough odds to chase you. Hence, his calling you with
good odds is a profitable play for him in the long run.
Since he is correct to take the odds, you do not gain when
he calls. You gain only when he folds and turns down those
odds. When he calls, you lose even if you happen to win
that particular pot; for over the long run his call has
positive expectation. It will end up costing you money.